Pharmacist Penumbra (Draft)

Chapter 10: Resting

Ring Yue was laying in the bed that cover her comfortable like she was sleeping on a cloud. "I am quite alright. There is no more poison remaining in my system," stated Ying Yue.

But it fell onto deaf ears. Li Mei places a cold damp cloth onto Ying Yue's forehead. "Nonsense. The Tax Minister is paralyzed and is throwing up. We can never be too careful." scolded Li Mei.

"That man was the one who was the fool. If a poison taster states that a dish is poisonous, then it is poisonous. Only the one who is the fool pays for their actions." said Ying Yue.

Ying Yue felt as of she was wasting a whole day of doing something. Removing herself from the warmth of the blankets, her body shivers from a cold breeze. Winter was a weather that she hated the most.

She moves to the kitchen snagging a few ingredients for herself. A small bag of ginkgo nuts, pearled barley, candied winter melon, a jar of water and a bean curd sheet.

She goes into an isolated kitchen, as she peels ginkgo nuts with a fluid motion. Cooking had always been a way of escaping reality, as her grandfather had always emphasized about always having a good diet that is delicious and nutritious. Removing the bitter centres of the ginkgo, she runs them in cold water.

All she focuses on is the cooking. Nothing else and also washes the barley. In a pot, she tosses in the ginkgo, barley, candied winter melon and water.

The flames wrap itself around the bottom of the pot. While also adding in the dried bean curd into the boiling mixture.

After an hour later, she removes the heavy pot away from the heat. Dishes herself a small bowl of the soup. Her body is satisfied and warm from the food, sitting calmly. A small gentle smile lifts onto her face like a budding flower. No disturbances.

Then she hears a sound from the entrance of the kitchen. A familiar figure is frozen. Caught in the act of sneaking, the smiling face is gone and replaced with her usual poker face.

"General, you could have just sat down and eaten with me. Not walk around like some novice thief." shot out Ying Yue. He chuckles awkwardly, as he takes a seat next to her.

She scoops a portion of the soup into another bowl and hands it to him. He nods his thanks and takes a spoonful into his mouth. His gaze lingers on Ying Yue's form with concern.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Ying Yue, quirking her eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"Should you be recovering?" he questions.

"I don't have any residual poison left in my body, so I don't need to be in a bed not doing anything." shot Ying Yue.

"But still. If the Minister of Tax is still trying to recover, how can your health be okay?" he asked in a worried tone.

"I have a resistance against poison. Did you not remember that Long Fan?" she spoke annoyed. They sat in an awkward silence, but then Ying Yue is finished with her portion of the soup.

She packs the half of the remaining ginkgo soup and hands it to Long Fan. "Take this to enjoy it in your own time," she said, as she cleans up the dishes.

But then, she sees a pair of calloused hands in the sink with a dirty bowl. "I can wash it for you." she offered, gesturing to the bowl.

"I can do it myself," he said, politely refusing her offer. They clean their respective bowls, running them under cold water.

The cold has frozen Ying Yue's hands cold. Her body shivers violently to the winter temperatures, but Long Fan notices this, as he takes off his outer coat and hangs over Ying Yue's slender shoulders. She looks at him in surprise. "You'll catch a cold. I cannot take your coat." Ying Yue voiced.

"I am in no need for a coat. It seems that you will be needing it far more than me," he noted.

Her face pinches into a frown, but she is grateful for the coat. "Thank you, Long Fan. I appreciate the gesture," she mutters.

He grins from ear to ear, as they heard the grumbling aura of a certain eunuch, as he pats her silky lock with an affectionate touch. He jumps out the window of the doctor's office in a mad dash to avoid the eunuch.

The fuming eunuch glared in anger. "Where is that bastard gone?" he growled, obviously annoyed at the goose chase.

She blankly pointed in the direction of the obviously opened door. The eunuch runs in the general direction of Long Fan to chase him down and make him do paperwork.

Ying Yue smiles gently, as she carries a clay pot that is filled with the remaining ginkgo soup to the Pearl Palace. Peeking through the crack of the Consort's room, the other four maids are running around like headless chickens shouting obscurities.

She walked into the maid frazzled predicament, calmly. She walks next to a concerned Consort Ming, as she places the clay pot on a nearby table. Which attracts the attention of the screaming maid, they all turn their murderous gazes to Ying Yue.

As they eye land on Ying Yue, they cry tears of relief. They are questioning her state.

"Here is some ginkgo soup I made. Please enjoy," she said. To interrupt their questions. She removes the clay lid, steam pours out of the pot desperate to escape. All the maid's stomachs growl simultaneously, as their eye glitter with hunger and drools at the sight of the soup.

They all share a bowl of ginkgo soup with each other's company. The atmosphere is warm and vibrant, as the woman chatter with a light conversation.

Ying Yue stares at the atmosphere with a gentle gaze, as she in content with her life right now. But sooner or later, she will have to leave this place.